Observation (CEACR) - adopted 2024, published 113rd ILC session (2025)

Minimum Age Convention, 1973 (No. 138) - Colombia (Ratification: 2001)

The Committee notes the observations of the National Employers Association of Colombia (ANDI) received on 30 August 2024. It also notes the joint observations of the Confederation of Workers of Colombia (CTC), the General Confederation of Labour (CGT) and the Single Confederation of Workers of Colombia (CUT), received on 3 September 2024. The Committee requests the Government to provide its comments in this respect.

Article 1 of the Convention. National policy for the abolition of forced labour and application in practice. The Committee notes the information provided by the Government in its report on the measures adopted to implement the Public Policy for the Prevention and Elimination of Child Labour (2017–27), specifically the establishment of an interdisciplinary team, within the sub-directorate for labour protection of the Ministry of Labour, to provide assistance and training on child labour to municipal and departmental authorities, as well as the general public. The Committee notes that the team organized around 20 awareness-raising days for children and young persons per year, and conducted: (1) in 2021, meetings in 32 departments and 799 municipalities, which were attended by 5,275 persons; (2) in 2022, meetings in 30 departments and 734 municipalities, which were attended by 3,178 persons; and (3) in 2023, meetings in 32 departments and 520 municipalities, which were attended by 1,977 persons.

The Government also indicates that the Ministry of Labour has an Integrated Information System for Identification, Registration and Classification of Child Labour and its Worst Forms (SIRITI), which allows for the coordination of information on the engagement of children in child labour and its worst forms, in order to make that information available to all entities involved in restoring the rights of children and young persons at the national, departmental, district and municipal levels. The SIRITI platform, which contains information that is directly supplied by local governments, allows for general monitoring of the effective implementation of the Public Policy Framework for the Prevention and Eradication of Child Labour, with access to real-time reporting on indicators relating to children and young persons identified as being in a situation of vulnerability. According to the Government, this makes it easier for the Interinstitutional Committees for the Elimination and Prevention of Child Labour and its Worst Forms (CIETIs) to take immediate action with regard to the processes to monitor the rights of and provide services to the population identified as being engaged in or at risk of child labour.

The Committee notes the statistical data provided by the Government, which highlight that, according to the Major Integrated Household Survey: (1) between 2022 and 2023, the rate of child labour decreased from 3.4 per cent to 2.9 per cent; (2) the statistics on child labour, expanded to include unpaid domestic work within the household exceeding 15 hours per week, was 11 per cent in 2022 and 10 per cent in 2023; (3) in 2023, the total national rate of child labour was 4.1 per cent for boys and 1.7 per cent for girls; and (4) where the rate of child labour takes into account unpaid domestic work, girls work more (12.7 per cent of girls compared with 7.5 of boys). The Committee also notes that, according to the Government, from July 2022 to June 2024, the administrative authorities enabled 1,231 children and young persons to begin the administrative process for the restoration of rights.

The Committee notes that ANDI: (1) highlights the significant progress made, with a major decrease in the rate of child labour in the country; (2) reiterates that the private sector is a key stakeholder in the fight to eliminate child labour, including through the Network of Enterprises against Child Labour, which comprises businesses committed to sharing best practices and designing strategies to prevent and progressively eliminate child labour, both in their supply chains and in the area of influence of their operations; and (3) indicates that it participated as a focal point in the Regional Initiative for the Elimination of Child Labour. The Committee requests the Government to continue to take measures to eliminate child labour, including in hazardous conditions, within or outside the framework of the Public Policy for the Prevention and Elimination of Child Labour (2017–27). It also requests the Government to continue to provide information on: (i) the measures adopted in this respect; (ii) the progress achieved through SIRITI; and (iii) the updated statistics on the nature, extent and trends of child labour.

Article 2(3). Compulsory education. The Committee notes the following information provided by the Government: (1) in 2020, 2021 and 2022, through the Carvajal Foundation, an educational strategy was implemented (the “Route to School Retention” strategy) in 77 educational institutions in 11 certified territorial bodies, which helped to prevent school dropouts due to risk factors associated with falling behind, repeating years and potentially dropping out due to child labour; (2) in 2022, jointly with the Colombian Family Welfare Institute (ICBF), a road map was developed on the prevention of school dropout and reintegration into the education system, which contains proposals for coordinated actions to identify, actively search for and integrate into the education system children and young persons engaged in child labour activities; (3) since 2023, the road map has been piloted with 20 territorial bodies targeted jointly by the Ministry of National Education and the ICBF; (4) the Ministry of National Education provides the certified territorial bodies with continuous technical assistance in order to share the dropout figures and risk factors identified in the Information System for the Monitoring, Prevention and Analysis of School Dropout (SIMPADE), with the aim of ensuring that this information is taken into account in the development of the annual retention plans of each certified territorial body; and (5) SIMPADE is a computer information application with online access, which enables the heads of educational establishments, secretaries of education and the Ministry of National Education to have early warnings regarding the population with the highest risk of dropout.

The Committee also notes that, according to the country’s profile in UNESCO’s Information System on Educational Trends in Latin America (SITEAL) in 2022: (1) the adjusted net rate for primary school attendance was 89.4 per cent for boys and 90 per cent for girls (a decrease compared with 2019, when the rates were 94.6 and 97.2 per cent for boys and girls, respectively); and (2) the adjusted net rate for lower secondary school attendance was 84.2 per cent for boys and 89.7 per cent for girls (an increase compared with 2019, when the rates were 82.4 and 87.9 per cent for boys and girls, respectively). The Committee requests the Government to continue its efforts to ensure compulsory schooling for children and young persons at the national level, at least until the age of 15 years. In this regard, the Committee requests the Government to continue to provide: (i) information on any other measures adopted and their results; and (ii) updated statistics on the school attendance and completion rates of children under the age of 15 years.

Article 9(1). Penalties and labour inspection. The Committee notes the Government’s indication that, where work permits are granted to a young person or, exceptionally, to a child, by the Ministry of Labour, inspections are carried out within two months to verify the working conditions. In this regard, the Committee duly notes the data provided by the Government on the number of inspections undertaken to follow up on the permits granted.

The Committee also notes the detailed information provided by the Government on the inspection strategies implemented to prevent child labour, namely: (1) the issuance by the Inspection, Oversight, Control and Territorial Management Directorate (Inspection Directorate) of annual guidelines for the conduct of inspection visits or inspection actions, with the aim of promoting prevention and protection in its “Guidelines for the Comprehensive Inspection Plan”; (2) the inclusion, in general inspections, of visits to verify, inter alia, the prevention of child labour, the protection of young workers, the identification of cases of child labour, particularly in its worst forms, and the detection of commercial sexual exploitation; and (3) the conduct, in 2022, by the Inspection Directorate, of 196 meetings on the prevention of child labour and the promotion of the rights of vulnerable populations.

The Committee welcomes the data provided by the Government on the violations related to child labour registered through punitive administrative procedures, including: (1) in 2021, 14 violations in total, 9 of which involved the engagement in work of a child without the required authorization, 3 involving prohibited work, and 1 where the maximum legal working hours were exceeded; (2) in 2022, 23 violations involved the engagement in work of a child without the required authorization, 1 involved a demand for the accrual of leave, and 1 involved prohibited work; and (3) in 2023, 12 violations of which 11 involved the engagement of a child without the required authorization and 1 in which the maximum legal working hours were exceeded. The Committee also notes the information provided on the penalties imposed. The Committee encourages the Government to continue its efforts to give full effect to the Convention and to provide updated information on the number of investigations conducted by the Labour Inspectorate in which penalties have been imposed for violations of the legislation on child labour, indicating the type of penalty and the nature of the violation.